News

The Southland Shears and the Dannevirke Shears have joined the list of cancellations now affecting more than a third of the competitions on the 2021-2022 Shearing Sports New Zealand calendar. Committees from the shows made the decisions at meetings on Tuesday, bringing to at least 20 the number of...

A five member team of young King Country shearing guns is shaping up to make their mark later this month with a crack at the five-stand nine-hour world record for strong wool lambs. Attempting to establish a new mark at Te Pa Station, Ruapehu on Wednesday 22 December, the five shearers, aged between...

World-famed shearing and woolhandling championships, the Golden Shears, has been cancelled for a second time because of the uncertainty of the Coronavirus crisis. Held annually for 60 years in Masterton’s War Memorial Stadium, the championships were to have been held on March 3-5. The decision at...

Managing Facial Eczema (FE) requires a multipronged approach that involves reducing spore intake and providing zinc as a prophylaxis and therapy. FE is caused by a mycotoxin produced by the fungus Pithomyces chartarum growing in pasture dead matter. This fungus multiplies rapidly when overnight...

A commercial Southland dairy herd this week became New Zealand’s highest value online livestock sale. Winton farmers Simon and Liz Harnett’s crossbred Friesian herd of in-calf cows sold for $2175 per head. With 360 two- to eight-year-old cows offered from a total herd of 440 in milk, the $783,000...

The Country’s Jamie Mackay is joined by PGG Wrightson’s General Manager for Rural Real Estate, Peter Newbold, to take a look rural property this month. Newbold comments on the prominence of sheep and beef properties, and how it is interesting to see good solid heartland areas leading the way. He...

Listen now. The Country’s Jamie Mackay is joined by PGG Wrightson’s Roddy Bridson, to talk about New Zealand’s livestock market and online auctions. Summer has finally arrived in Southland as Bridson explains that the season is in full swing. Mackay notes that next Thursday will feature New Zealand...

This week The Country's Jamie Mackay is joined by PGG Wrightson's Steve Fussell, a wool rep and auctioneer based out of Central Hawkes Bay, to take a look at the wool market this month. Wool auctions are currently in their fortnightly cycle and should move to weekly in two weeks' time in...

Ben Wright and Brooke Cushion make a nationwide mark among young rural professionals PGG Wrightson secured a quinella at the tenth annual Heartland Bank Young Auctioneers Competition, held in Canterbury in early November. Ben Wright, a sheep and beef representative for the company based in Manawatu...

A '100 per cent country boy' makes the shift from rural transport to livestock rep With roots in the region, Cameron Gray started as a PGG Wrightson South Canterbury and Waimate livestock representative in October 2021. A 100 per cent country boy, Cameron's home patch is Cannington, Cave, 35...

Finishing a few head of stock keeps Simon in tune with what's happening for his clients Simon Eddington is PGG Wrightson livestock genetics representative for the Upper South Island. Taking his work home and trying to practice what he preaches, Simon has lived for the past 20 years on a 13-hectare...

Efficient and easy to use option leaves clients free to find better uses for their capital. PGG Wrightson offers an easy solution for on-farm cashflow: Go-Stock. Since 2016 Go-Stock has put 1.55 million lambs and 240,000 cattle onto New Zealand farms. For farmers operating under Go-Stock, PGG...

Cattle, yearlings, weaners and lambs all selling well By early November, the North Island's slow, chilly start to spring had ended, temperatures were rising, and the grass was growing fast. Particularly gratifying: Hawke's Bay, in drought for the past three years, received plenty of rain at an ideal...

Farmers considering offering herds for purchase need to start preparing now. Listings for forwarding sales of dairy herds for settlement on 1 May and 1 June 2022 are starting to come onto the market. Any farmer considering selling a herd should contact their Livestock representative now. Early...

Clients of livestock business benefiting from fresh talent, professionally trained Succession planning is a significant issue for farmers. In common with much of the agriculture sector, around ten years ago, PGG Wrightson confronted the fact that our livestock team wasn't growing any younger. To...

Warmer conditions after a late spring, plus excellent export demand, drive optimism A late start to the spring slowed grass growth in the South Island, meaning some early lambs gained less weight than farmers look for. However, with plenty of rain, the season began in earnest once temperatures rose...

Selections focus on FE, worms, marbling and progeny performance This year's annual ram sale season is underway, showing the current strength of the red meat sector. Clients are focused on genetics resilient or resistant to facial eczema and worms. Eating quality is a critical factor in most...

The Country’s Jamie Mackay is joined by PGG Wrightson’s General Manager for Rural Real Estate, Peter Newbold, to take a look rural property this month. Newbold talks about how the selling is strong and the value is good in the rural property market with great prices in all sectors. The last rural...